Audit ale is a type of beer brewed since the 14th century, named after the annual “auditing of accounts” at Cambridge and Oxford universities.

ABV: 8ABW: 6.3Bitterness: n/aOriginal gravity: 1080

Nethergate Brewery has revived a lovely tradition: the audit ale. This style had all but disappeared by the 1970s, but originated in the 1400s to be consumed when grades were handed out at Oxford and Cambridge universities (and, no doubt, other bastions of higher learning―after all, these kids were no dummies). At 8 percent ABV, it has helped celebrate many a good "audit" or soften the blow of a bad one. Much akin to those ordeals, this beer is simultaneously sweet and sour, with very little head retention. This beer might do better on cask, but is worth trying in the bottle for its uniqueness.- Lisa Morrison

Poor Dirty Dick. He’d taken quite a battering by the time he reached me and, being bottle conditioned, he took a while to settle down. In fact, he wasn’t quite ready by the time I needed to open him. Add this to the fact that I think the beer was still on the young side and the whole experience was reminiscent of drawing a sample from a conditioning tank. Nevertheless, Dick shows a lot of promise. I loved the fruitiness—strawberries, oranges, apricots and pineapple—and the bitter, sappy bite of hops in the finish. Just give him more time.- Jeff Evans

Lisa MorrisonLisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Jeff EvansAuthor of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.